"Mr. Jones, Mr. Kirkland is here for his appointment."
Alfred looked up from the papers on his desk. His secretary Joanna was looking at him expectantly from the doorway. If he didn't know any better, he'd say that she was miffed at him. He hadn't paid her on time, had he? Fucking brilliant. He'd be lucky to maintain half of his staff with his current budget.
He straightened in his seat and nodded at Joanna, grabbing at the very last straws of his authority. "Very well, Joanna. See him in."
When Alfred had received a phone call during his lunch break the previous day from a new supporter, he hadn't been very attentive, to say the least. He made a habit of shoving his documents to the edge of his desk while he ate and had spilled his coffee on the copy of a complaint he'd recently received from a business in his district. He had been busy salvaging it when Joanna had asked him to pick up the phone and only vaguely recalled what it was he'd agreed to under duress.
He must have consented to a meeting with the supporter, as here the man was, sitting in the chair in front of him.
Alfred frequently entertained men in business suits and was fairly used to their brusque demeanor and fluid speech.
Mr. Kirkland wasn't the kind of man he'd expected to meet though.
Kirkland, while dressed in a suit not unlike the others, had a smile. Not the polite smile Alfred exercised on a daily basis, but something that his high school English teacher would have described as 'languid'. It made Alfred slightly uncomfortable, and it took quite a bit to make Alfred Jones squirm.
"It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Congressman Jones," the man drawled, offering his hand. Alfred took it with a tight smile, briefly wondering how long he'd be able to hang onto the title.
His term was almost over and he'd be lucky to be reelected, what with the little to no contribution he'd actually been able to give. He had barely enough funds to run his small office, and he didn't get as many visitors as he had in the first year. Once they saw he wasn't of much use, people just stopped coming.
"The pleasure is all mine, Mr. Kirkland. To what do I owe your visit?"
The man reclined back in his seat and gave him a casual one over. "Call me Arthur, Congressman. I have been anxious to meet you for a while now. You see, there is a piece of legislation I would like to have passed."
Oh, fuck. He should have known this was coming. "I see. Can you tell me what it is about?"
"I would prefer you read it yourself," Arthur bent down in his chair and pulled out a file from his attaché case, handing it to him with a graceful air. Alfred took it wearily and opened it, running his eyes over the document briefly. His eyes widened when he reached the last point and looked up at Arthur with a frown.
"I'm sorry, but I can't possibly submit this, Mr. Kirkland. I'm not that kind of man. In fact, I'm surprised you even approached me with this. I'm not sure if you're aware, but this borders on illegal."
Arthur's smile only widened.
"I am fully aware of the potentially shady aspects of my draft, Congressman. In fact," he leaned forward and placed his forearms on the desk, "that is exactly the reason I sought out you in particular to help me pass it."
The man couldn't have said anything more baffling. The least Alfred had expected was a denial or perhaps an apology. Not only had Arthur admitted to the problematic aspects of his legislation, but he actually insinuated Alfred wouldn't have any problems with it.
Well.
Alfred drew back in his seat, putting as much distance between him and his visitor. "I'm sorry Mr. Kirkland, but while I may not be the most successful politician in the district, I do have my values. Contrary to popular belief, not all politicians are morally corrupt. I'm at a loss as to what gave you the impression that I'd agree to support such legislation."
"The horrendous state of your finances, but of course," Arthur didn't miss a beat. He hadn't gotten the hint when Alfred had drawn back (or perhaps he had chosen to ignore it). He was still leaning against the desk, much too close for comfort.
"My dear congressman, I never meant to insult you. I simply came to the conclusion that we have a shared interest to help each other out."
Something about the certainty in which Arthur spoke made Alfred pause. The man seemed to have really thought everything through before approaching him. It was a bit unnerving, but Alfred was too curious not to hear Arthur out.
"You see, I have been following you since you were elected. Not in the stalking sense, of course," he added quickly to counter the incredulous expression on Alfred's face.
"I have been following your political career. Newspaper articles, radio interviews…slowly but surely you have disappeared from the media. That is one of the first indicators a politician is well on his way down the road of failure.
"And as you know very well, an unpopular and uninfluential politician lacks the money to resurface in public awareness."
Touché.
Alfred couldn't remember the last time he'd been in the black. Still, he knew when to gracefully step down and back out of the game. He had been given the chance to make a change and he had fucked it up. Who was to say that he wouldn't mess things up again should he rebound?
"Are you trying to bribe me, Arthur Kirkland?"
A tall stack of green, bound crisply with a rubber band, was set in front of him. Bewildered, Alfred looked from the offered cash to the man in front of him.
"Quite," Arthur drawled nonchalantly, pushing his chair back and reaching down to grab his attaché case. "I am delighted we are finally on the same page."
"Wait!" Alfred quickly stood up and hurried in the other's direction, doing his best to subdue the alarm in his voice. "I didn't agree to anything!"
Arthur had already crossed the room and half turned at the door, shooting him a calm smile.
"Think about it," he suggested, eyeing the stack of money that remained untouched on Alfred's desk.
"There is more where that came from."
He nodded at him one last time before closing the door behind him, leaving Alfred alone in what felt like a suffocatingly small office. The air felt as if it were being sucked into the center of the room, to Alfred's desk with the dirty money on top of it. Alfred couldn't bring himself to turn back and look at it.
Still, he couldn't just leave such a sum of money out in the open. Taking a deep breath, Alfred turned around, went to his desk, picked up the stack of money and without bothering to count it, shoved it into a drawer, locking it with a small key.
It wouldn't be touched until Arthur Kirkland himself returned and took it back.
Its mere presence was too much of a distraction, though, and after half an hour of attempted work, Alfred gave up.
He pulled on his coat and hurriedly stuffed his keys into his pocket, making his way out of the door and past Joanna, who looked up from her computer to frown at him as he breezed by.
"Mr. Jones? Where are you going?"
"I'm calling it a day," Alfred yelled over his shoulder, making sure to avoid looking her in the eye.
"I don't feel well today. Be a doll and cancel any other appointments I have for the day, alright?"
He heard her reply but didn't quite make it out as he was already halfway out the door.
He took a calming breath before climbing into his car and shifting gears, clearing his head as he pulled out of the parking lot.
Poor Joanna. Alfred knew she had an elderly mother who required aid around the clock, which mustn't come cheap for her.
Yet she still worked for him, despite not seeing a paycheck for weeks.
And what about Matthew, who had given him the initial loan for election's propaganda? He still hadn't paid him back. Some extra cash could go a long way-
No, he told himself firmly, stopping at a red light.
Nothing is worth committing a crime. The only thing I've got left is my good name, and I'm not willing to risk that too.
Still, Joanna was so nice—
No.
Matthew deserved to have his money back—
No.
But was his good name (or even worse, jail time) worth more than helping out those who had always been there for him?
…
Maybe he'd better wait until Kirkland called on him again.